Magnetic power device



May 6, 1952 W. L. MORRISON, JR

MAGNETIC POWER DEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Sept. 21, 1949 Jyz.

WILLA/ D L. MORRISON JA.

y 1952 w. MORRISON, JR 2,595,872

MAGNETIC POWER DEVICE Filed Sept. 21, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET z m w n 41 0 3M a w 7 W 6 W! L a mu m m a 0 A A 5 MMW- a 5 W Patented May 6, 1952MAGNETIC POWER DEVICE Willard L. Morrison, Jr., Akron, Ohio, assignor toMagnetic Power, Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corporation of DelawareApplication September 21, 1949, Serial No. 116,913

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to magnetic power devices, especially ofthe type which operate household appliances and particularly togrinders, such as knife Sharpeners.

A purpose of the invention is to support the rotatable keeper of amagnetic power unit from a shaft and bearing located on the side remotefrom the magnet and thus provide for close coupling.

A further purpose is to interpose a nonmagnetic wall between the keeperand the magnet, forming the bottom of a housing for the keeper above thenonmagnetic wall.

A further purpose is to provide a ring gear on the side of a keeperremote from the magnet and to drive other mechanism from that ring gear.

A further purpose is to intermesh transverse gears with the ring gearand to extend opposed grinding wheel shafts from the transverse gears.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate one only of the numerousembodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the form shownfrom the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactoryoperation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a magnetic power unit and power take-offaccording to the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation partly in central vertical section.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the power takeoff of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the power takeoff unit (knifesharpener).

Figures 5 and 6 are detail axial sections of the grinding wheels, shaftsand transverse gears.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic top plan view of the rotor showing therelation of the rotor magnets to the keeper when the power take-off isoperatmg.

In the drawings like numerals refer to like parts.

In the prior art efforts have been made to 0perate various accessories,including knife sharpeners, from magnetic power units. An example of thesame appears in Jerome L. Murray U. S. patent application Serial No.771,176, filed August 27, 1947, for Mixer and Processor for Home Use andthe Like.

The present invention is designed particularly to simplify theconstruction of power take-01f units, whether for knife sharpener orother devices, and to reduce the cost or size of the magneticallysusceptible elements required. The invention also provides for closercoupling between the driving magnet and the driven keeper, and for moreeffective and efficient bearing s'upport of the keeper.

In accordance with the invention, the keeper is turned by the magnet ofthe magnetic power unit on an axis which is coaxial with that of themagnet or at least parallel thereto. The keeper is preferably mounted ina separate power take-off unit which may be regarded as a separateaccessory.

In order to obtain extremely close coupling between the magnet and thekeeper, the bearing support for the keeper is provided on the sideremote from the magnet. Thus where the keeper is positioned above themagnet, the keeper is desirably hung from a bearing above the keeper,thus eliminating the space required for a bearing between the magnet andthe keeper and also a1- lowing for slight orientation of the axis in anyplay allowed by the hearing.

The keeper and its bearing are desirably located inside a housing,separate from the power unit housing, and the housing is provided with anonmagnetic bottom wall which extends between the keeper and the turningmagnet, preferably in close proximity with the keeper.

In using the device for a power take-off, a ring gear is preferablypositioned on the side of the keeper remote from the magnet, coaxialwith the keeper and intermeshing with transverse gears.

One of the transverse gears drives a grinding wheel in a preferredembodiment, and preferably the opposite transverse gear drives anopposed grinding wheel in the opposite direction.

It will be understood, of course, that the exact character of gearingwhich permits intermeshing between the ring gear and the transversegearing will vary in various applications, it not being important inmany cases whether bevel gears or straight transverse gears are used.

It will, of course, be understood that the housing separation wall forthe keeper should preferably be of non-magnetic material.

Insofar as the present invention involves the bearing suspension on theremote side of the keeper from the magnet, it is to be regarded asimmaterial whether the keeper is used directly to apply force from thekeeper surfaces as in the case of the stirrers or mixers shown in theMurray patent application above referred to, or whether the keeperapplies force through separate mechanism, as in the knife sharpener ofthe present invention.

The magnetic power unit of the invention comprises a base housing 20supporting a vertical electric motor 2| controlled by a switch 22 andcut-off by a switch 23. The motor 2| is connected by gearing 24 with arotor shaft 25 turning in a bottom bearing 26 in the housing and in atop bearing 21 on the under side of the top of a nonmagnetic casing 28surrounding the rotor and supported on the bottom housing. The rotorshaft 25 has threads 38 in the direction which will raise the rotor whenthe shaft turns forwardly, and the threads 39 engage and freely run withthe threads on nut 3| surrounding the rotor shaft. The nut 3!interconnects with a rotor base 32 preferably of magneticallysusceptible material which supports upwardly directed permanent magnets33. At the top of the rotor a nonmagnetic plate 34, cut out to clear topbearing 21, supports the magnets and is held to the rotor base by studs35.

The rotor is limited in upward motion by a collar 36 on the rotor shaftengaging nut 3|, and is limited in downward motion by rotor base 32engaging cut-off switch 23 against the action of switch compressionspring 3i. When the rotor is in upper position it creates a turningmagnetic field close coupled to the keeper. When the rotor is in thelower position the keeper can be readily removed.

It will be understood that any suitable magnetic power unit creating aturning magnetic field may be used.

Resting on the casing 28 is a suitably nonmagnetic power take-offhousing 38 having a nonmagnetic bottom wall as close to the top of thepermanent magnets. In close proximity above the bottom wall is aturnable magnetically susceptible keeper 4 I, suitably of soft steel,which is rotatably supported on a vertical axis by a thrust bearing 42above the keeper and a journal bearing 43 below the thrust bearing. Bothbearings are on a hub of the power take-off housing. Any play in thebearings permits slight adjustment of the keeper axis.

A ring gear 44 coaxial with the keeper is secured to the upper face byscrews $5.

At diametrically opposite points the ring gear intermeshes with coaxialtransverse gears i3 and '3'. whose axis is on a diameter of the ringgear. Transverse gear #6 is on shaft 48 which is journailed in bearing53 on the housing, and carries, at the end directed toward the oppositetransverse gear, a grinding wheel secured by a screw 52. Transverse gearM is on shaft 53 journalled at 55 on the housing and carrying, at theend toward the opposite transverse gear, a grinding wheel 55 securedthereon by a screw 56.

The grinding wheels, of carborundum or the like, are bevelled at 5'! ifdesired to provide a slot 58 to receive a knife blade to be sharpened.

The power take-off housing will ordinarily be heavy enough so that itwill not need to be locked against turning relative to the magneticpower take-off unit.

In operation it will be evident that the power take-off unit of theinvention will be suitably placed on the power unit and the power unitwill be started, turning the magnet in the power unit and therebyturning the keeper in the power takeoff unit. Due to the bearingsuspension of the keeper from above, the keeper can have extremely closecoupling with the magnet. The bottom of the power take-off housing,being thin and of nonmagnetic material, does not appreciably increasethe air gap.

As the keeper turns it is pulled toward the magnet, tending to hold thepower take-off firmly against the housing of the power unit. The bearingsuspension slightly readjusts the axis of the keeper within the limitsof any play to provide uniform magnetic force distribution, thus givinguniform force application.

As the keeper turns it turns the ring gear, which in turn rotates thetransverse gears on the same axis but in opposite directions. Thus thegrinding wheels at the adjoining ends of the transverse gear shafts aredriven in opposite directions, producing a favorable relationship forknife sharpening. It is then merely necessary to insert the knife bladeor other article to be sharpened between the opposed cooperatinggrinding wheels in an angular position to contact the opposite bevelledsurfaces as suggested by the dot-and-dash line, Figure 3, and both sidesof the blade can be sharpened at the same time without any difficultythrough tendency to push the blade longitudinally. It will beunderstood, of course, that the exact form of the grinding wheels willvary with the particular surface. Likewise the grinding wheels may becoarse or fine in texture and may be operated wet or dry.

While reference has been made herein to a permanent magnet or magnetssupported on a rotor for creating the turning magnetic field, questionsof whether the magnetic driving field is created by a permanent magnet,an electromagnet or some combination of the same, or by magnets on arotor or a magnet which forms the entire rotor are not critical in thepresent invention, and it will be understood that variations in thesefeatures may be employed if desired.

It will be evident, of course that the knife sharpener can be providedwith a suitable cover slotted to admit the knife and protecting the userfrom contact with the gear.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of myinvention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claimall such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope ofmy claims Having thus described my invention what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a magnetic power device, a magnetic power unit including a turningmagnet, a magnet keeper turned by the magnet, means mounting the keeperfor rotation, a ring gear on one side of the keeper coaxial with thekeeper, a gear transverse to the ring gear and intermeshing with it, ashaft transverse the axis of the keeper mounting the transverse gear anda grinding wheel on the shaft.

2. In a magnetic power device, a magnet keeper, a shaft and bearingrotatably supporting the keeper, a ring gear coaxial with the keeper andmounted thereon, transverse gears intermeshing with the ring gear andcoaxial with one another, shafts on the transverse gears extendingtoward one another and opposed grinding wheels on the shafts justmentioned.

3. In a magnetic power device, a self-contained housing having anonmagnetic bottom wall, a rotatable magnet keeper in the housingadjacent the bottom wall, a shaft and bearing supporting the keeper onthe side remote from the bottom 2,595,872 5 6 wall, the shaft extendingvertically and the bear- REFERENCES CITED mg F mounted on thehousingring gear The following references are of record in the coaxialwith the keeper on the upper side thereof, me of this patent: transversegears intermeshlng with the ring gear and located above the same coaxialwith one an- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS other, transverse shafts on therespective trans- Number Name Date verse gears extending toward oneanother, bear- 591,395 Fay Oct. 12, 1897 ings in the housing for thetransverse shafts and 621,204 Ballou Mar. 14, 1899 opposed grindingwheels on the adjoining ends 1,109,945 Seiss Sept. 8, 1914 of thetransverse shafts. 10 2,097,944 Casey Nov. 2, 1937 2,225,206 CasselsDec. 17. 1940 WIL RD L- MORRISO J 2,350,534 Rosinger June 6, 19442,356,784 Graham Aug. 29, 1944 2,479,986 Thomas Aug. 23, '1949

